"Mommie Dearest" is what Joan Crawford insisted her adopted daughter, Christina, call her. This film is based on their life together from Christine's perspective. Many folks got mad when this hit the scene, claiming it shed Joan in a horrible light as an abusive mother to her two adopted kids. Christina says it's truth as she remembers it. I figure the real deal is somewhere in between, with me tending to fall closer to Christina's view. A lot of things ring very true in her behavior and reactions to circumstances... In any case, it does make for a very entertaining movie.

Don't @ # ! * with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.

Trying to portray a Hollywood legend has got to go from a challenge to terrifying, but Faye Dunaway does a spectacular job with the role. Every nuance from the hair pats, nervous jewelry tinkering, and false smile to the absolute rage in her eyes lying underneath it all was just perfection. There were parts here that reminded me hauntingly of my own mother, and I hate to say it, but after all these years I watched it again this morning and was a bit taken aback to see a few of my own child rearing moments in her too. I'm sorry Azure. (I never hit Azure, but I did get rather volatile verbally from time to time).

You are a lousy substitute for someone who really cares

A 'must see' for any fan of old movies and those into psychological deconstruction. There's a lot to keep you interested here.

mike, the case you cite focuses on "criminal defendants" -- whether they can be compelled to reveal their encryption passphrase. People with laptops being checked in airports are not considered "defendants" until after they are arrested for something.

In the United States there is a fine line between a free citizen and a criminal defendant - you can find yourself arrested in a heartbeat. On nothing more than, say, you a suspect in some crime.

NEW YORK - It was an unusually honest ad for a live-in nanny, a 1,000-word tome beginning, "My kids are a pain." But it worked, attracting a brave soul who's never been a nanny before. "If you cannot multitask, or communicate without being passive-aggressive, don't even bother replying," Rebecca Land Soodak, a mother of 4 on Manhattan's Upper East Side, wrote Aug. 19 in her advertisement on Craigslist. "I can be a tad difficult to work for. I'm loud, pushy and while I used to think we paid well, I am no longer sure." This being the age of instant communications, the ad took on a life of its own, making the rounds of parenting blogs and e-mail inboxes and inspiring an article in Thursday's New York Times.

Soodak, a 40-year-old painter whose husband owns a wine store, eventually hired Christina Wynn, a 25-year-old University of Virginia graduate, to take care of Rubin, 12; Ellis, 9; and Shay and Cassie, both 6. "I made a commitment to stay in the job for at least a year," Wynn told the Times. "I met the oldest child, but not the others, which my mother said was crazy — to accept the job without meeting all the kids. So we'll see." She noted that one of the pluses is that the children are all in school for several hours each day. Some other excerpts from the listing: "If you are fundamentally unhappy with your life, you will be more unhappy if you take this job, so do us all a favor and get some treatment or move to the Rockies, but do not apply for employment with us."

And this: "Also, if you suspect all wealthy women are frivolous, we are not for you." And this: "I have all sorts of theories on how to stack my dishwasher, and if you are judgmental about Ritalin for ADHD, or think such things are caused by too much sugar, again, deal-break city." No word yet on whether a sequel to "The Nanny Diaries" is in the works. Meanwhile, Soodak tells the Times: "I hope she likes it here. I sent the ad to one of my old sitters and she said she felt it was pretty accurate, which sort of stung a little bit."